Sierra Club Endorses Debbie Mucarsel-Powell

Miami, FL – The Sierra Club, the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization, has endorsed Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in her race to unseat Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo, citing Mucarsel-Powell’s work at the Coral Restoration Foundation and her commitment to taking real steps to fight climate change.

“We are pleased to announce today that the Sierra Club officially endorses Debbie Mucarsel-Powell for election,” said David Harbeitner, Sierra Club Florida’s political chairman. “We are confident that she will work to protect Florida families’ health, air and water, and build a clean energy economy that works for Floridians.”

“We are deeply grateful to Debbie Mucarsel-Powell for her years of work restoring coral reefs in South Florida waters, and supporting novel efforts to grow corals in nurseries and replanting them in coral reefs. This has made her a witness to the adverse effects of climate change on our ocean environment. The current crisis in our Florida waters is an issue that Debbie will be ready to work on as soon as she is sworn in,” said Sierra Club’s Kent Harrison Robbins. “She is a true environmental champion who will fight to protect Florida’s clean air, clean water, our climate and natural treasures.”

Last week, Mucarsel-Powell also earned the support of Climate Hawks Vote, a national grassroots organization that advocates for environmental champions. In its endorsement announcement, the group slammed Congressman Curbelo for voting in favor of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and for taking $10,000 each in campaign contributions from Exxon and Chevron; $5,000 each from Valero and Marathon Petroleum; and $1,000 each from American Petroleum Institute and American Gas Association.

A spokesperson for Climate Hawks Vote also labeled Curbelo “the leader of the Climate Peacocks,” a group that she described as “Republicans who strut and squawk and say they want to do something on climate change, but end up voting just like all the rest of the fossil-fueled Republicans whenever climate bills come up.”

Climate change is one of the most important issues facing South Florida. 

Mucarsel-Powell released an underwater digital ad this month that draws attention to Republicans’ environmental inaction on issues like red tide, the blue-green algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee, and the continued threat of sea-level rise. 

Last Thursday, on the same day that Miami-Dade County announced that its shores are being impacted by red tide, Mucarsel-Powell criticized Curbelo for taking nearly $80,000 in campaign contributions from Big Sugar, an industry that has exacerbated Florida’s urgent water problems.